I'm currently reading Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright. She starts off by summarizing the history of Czechoslovakia and the surrounding area, then continues on to the events that led to and included WWII. I have reached the time around her first years as a child. It is a perspective of place and time I had not studied before. My reading goal for this year was 75 books. I've read 81, so far. I don't think I will read more than one before the end of the year. I travelled to England quite a bit, as usual. I also visited Africa, Sweden, Japan, Australia and the South Pacific, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and fictional worlds. As usual, my ratio of female to male authors is about even. This year, I read quite a few modern classics that I'd avoided when younger. Of those, I enjoyed Rosencrantz and Guildenstern the most. I also read my first zombie book, which I never thought I would do. I actually enjoyed World War Z because of the interview format. I also revisited a lot of old favorite mystery authors. Inferno by Dan Brown was better than I expected. Alan Bradley of the Flavia mysteries really knows how to turn a phrase. I keep thinking about this one: "Fate loves coincidences but it never chews its cabbage twice." I'm not sure if that means what I think it means. Books 2016: Starred books are ones I particularly enjoyed. January The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (Alternative History after WWII, USA) Tisha by Robert Specht (Young school teacher in Alaska, semi-biographical)* If on A Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino (Story within a story, within a story, within a story…) Undeniable by Bill Nye (non fiction, Evolution) Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (Modern Classic, gothic spoof, England)* February Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (Non-Fiction, Colonial Africa)* Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (Governess accidentally befriends socialite, England)* Nght by Elie Weisel (Non-fiction, WWII, concentration camp) Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan (Mr. Penumbra's beginning, USA) The Rook by Daniel O'Malley (Sci-Fi/Fantasy, mutants, secret societies, England) Dead Men Don't Ski by Patricia Moyes (Mystery, Inspector Tibbet, Italy) March The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (Classic, gothic mystery, England) Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen (magical realism, Florida) The Better Angels of Our Nature by Stephen Pinker ( Non-fiction, a look at why violence has declined )* Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett (Death runs away from his job, England)* Superstition in All Ages by Jean Meslier (Atheist treatise on religion) The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel (Portugal, cryptic fiction, magical realism) Into the Darkness by Barbara Michaels (mystery, USA) April: The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (Classic, NY, USA) Deserter:Murder at Gettysburg by Jane Langton (Homer Kelly Mystery, USA) The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler (Magical realism, mermaids, USA) Daisy Miller by Henry James (Classic, an American in Europe) Rozencrantz and Guildenstern by Tom Stoppard (Modern classic, play, based on Hamlet)* Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (Sci-Fi, the future evolution of mankind, Earth) The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell (England, Bronte Heiress in Oxford, mystery) Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (Modern classic, existential play) Murder on Safari by Elspeth Huxley (Africa, murder mystery) Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief by Dorothy Gilman (mystery, intrigue, Sicily) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (modern classic, New York, teen angst) And So To Murder by Carter Dickson (mystery, early film industry, England) May: Don't Look Now by Daphne DuMaurier (Short stories, psychological fiction, England) No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer (mystery, England) First Impressions by Charlie Lovett (England, Mystery, Jane Austen) The Confidential Agent by Graham Greene (Europe, spies) Death in an Ivory Tower by Maria Hudgins (Mystery, England) Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (Fantasy, witches, humor)* Down Among the Dead Men by Patricia Moyes (Mystery, England, boats) June: So Big by Edna Ferber ( US, early Chicago) Redwall by Brian Jaques (Juvenile, fantasy, animal war/adventure) St. Peter's Finger by Gladys Mitchell (Mystery, England) Dreaming Spies by Laurie King (Japan, Ninjas, mystery)* July: Steeplechase by Jane Langdon (Homer Kelly mystery, US 1800's)* The Darling Buds of May by H. E. Bates (England, humor) The African Poison Murders by Elspeth Huxley (Africa, mystery) Billy Budd, Sailor by Hermann Melville (Ships, sailing, 18th century) Blood of Victory by Alan Furst (Europe, spies) The Relic Master by Christopher Buckley (Europe, Historical Fiction, alternate history) Mrs. Pargeter's Package by Simon Brett (mystery, August: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (Novelized non-fiction, murder case) The Murder of Mary Russell by Laurie King (Mrs. Hudson and son, mystery) Following the Equator by Mark Twain (Travels in the Pacific and Australia, non-fiction)* Uncoffin'd Clay by Gladys Mitchell (mystery, England) Everyday Super Food by Jamie Oliver (cookbook, whole foods) The Invisible library by Genevieve Cogman (Fantasy/mystery, libraries, books) Dragonwyck by Anya Seton (Gothic novel, NewYork, 19th century) The Idiot's Guide to American Literature September: Our Man in Havana by Graham Green (Cuba, spies, humor)* Something to Remember You By by Gene Wilder (WWII, Europe, spies, romance, novella) Aunt Dimity and the Buried Treasure by Nancy Atherton (mystery, England, village life) The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath ( United States, mental illness) Young Goodman Brown and Other Short Stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne (New England, slightly creepy morality tales) The Fingerprint by Patricia Wentworth (Miss Silver Mystery, England) Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis (Pulitzer Prize, Doctors, early 20th century) October: Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman (Short stories) World War Z by Max Brooks (Zombie wars aftermath, interviews around the world)* Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mewed by Alan Bradley (Flavia mystery, England)* The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (Ghost story, haunted house) Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Fantasy, Time Travel, mystery, WWII) November: The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart (England, Tower of London, dark humor) The Blackheath Poisonings by Julian Symons (Mystery, England, blah) Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse (England, humor) Inferno by Dan Brown (Cryptic mystery, Florence, history, art, action/adventure)* Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer (Flufferton romance, humor, England) Search the Shadows by Barbara Michaels (Mystery, Chicago, quest for biological father) A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (Sweden, fiction, loveable curmudgeon)* Miss Marple, The Complete Short Stories b y Agatha Christie (mystery, England) December: The Food of Love by Anthony Capella (Rome, Romance, humor, love triangle, Italian Cuisine) Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (Mystery, England) The Cat Who Came For Christmas by Cleveland Amory (Non- fiction, memoir, cats, US, NYC) Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang (Sci-fi, short stories)* The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley(Steampunk, magical realism, London)* Complete duds: The Relic Master, Waiting for Godot, The Blackheath Poisonings,Billy Budd,

Merry Christmas! I forgot to put baking soda in our traditional Christmas morning cranberry nut bread. Nevertheless, it turned out sweet, fragrant, dense and chewy. The kids dubbed it fruitcake and ate it anyway. It went well with the sausage, egg, and cheese casserole. Christmas is our day to relax, play games, eat leftovers and chocolate. Tonight my mom is taking the whole family to see Rogue One. Hope your day is great!

I finished The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Here is my review: I enjoyed this book much more than expected. It is a combination of steampunk lite and magical realism. I shed tears twice and gasped a few times. To get the most out of the story you must completely suspend disbelief and just accept what comes next. There are more twists than one can count. It starts out feeling disconnected, but after the parts are joined, it flows quickly, sometimes too quickly. The day after I finished it I realized that from one perspective the story is sweet, from another it is very creepy and disturbing. It's probably best not to dwell on it. Who knows if I'll get any reading done in the next two days.

Yes, I did. ☺ï¸

Oh no! That must sting.

I went through my stacks of thrift store finds to see what I want to read that matches any Bingo squares. So far: Sci-Fi: The Visitors by Cliffird Simak Dystopian: Utopias, a collection of stories by writers that appeared in Asimov's magazine. Translated: Our Ancestors by Italo Calvino Prime number: The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson One word: Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin Short Stories: The Country of Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett Female Adventure: The Fun Of It by Amelia Earhart Steampunk: Mechanique by Genevieve Valentine I've got lots of mysteries and classics to choose from, so those will be subject to whim. The western is the one for which I haven't got a clue. Any suggestions?

I second the question "does it have to be your first name?" What about last or middle names?

I'm currently reading The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. I picked the book by its cover. So far it is enjoyable. After that I will be reading Prague Winter, Madelyn Albright's autobiography, our next book club pick. It just happens to fit this week's challenge.

Nobody puts molasses on their oatmeal?

Blackstrap molasses has a stronger flavor and a lot more iron. Maybe it is less refined? In recipes, I use whatever kind I happen to have. It works fine.

Beside what everyone else has said, have you sat down and had a discussion with him about what gave him the idea his hands had stuff on them and that he needs to keep washing them. What kind of stuff does he think it is. Ask him what will happen if he doesn't wash them. You may be surprised. Kids get unusual ideas in their heads because of incomplete information or information that has been inordinately stressed by some medium that they view as an authority. My oldest boy washed his hands till they bled before I finally straight out asked him similar questions. It turns out the tap was dripping and Sesame Street had said fish would die if we waste water. He was making sure the water wasn't wasted by using it!

Now I realize why, in the last five years, I have bought myself an electric blanket, wool socks, and a fleece vest, to wear in the house. My good reads list for the year is here...but I'm not done yet. https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2016/19798175 Feel free to add me to your reading friends.

I'm still working on Stories of Your Life and enjoying it. I like the author's style of writing, cerebral sci-fi that feels classic.

The Nameless Dame and the Minotaur take a cigarette break down among the dead men.

I finished The Cat Who Came For Christmas and am working in Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. It is a book of sci-fi short stories. I started in the middle with the one I was most interested in "Story of Your Life." It reads like old school science fiction, which I prefer. I hope this means I will like the rest of the book as well. My reading time is also curtailed. Along with our school routine, I decided to do redwork embroidery tea towels for female relatives. Why did I wait til December? Because I like a challenge? I finished one last night. Two more are essential, two more are optional, a couple more after that would be nice. Every woman I know IRL may get a tea towel, if my energy holds out. Edited: I hate auto correct.

I'm currently reading The Cat Who Came For Christmas by Cleveland Amory. It's a lighthearted memoir, a bestseller at one time. I'm also drinking Trader Joe's chocolate mint tea. ☕ï¸

I finished The Food of Love which was chock full of delicious Italian cuisine, sometimes served up steamy. The end of the story was relatively bland but satisfying. Right now I'm reading Agatha Christie's Murder on the Links, which, surprisingly, I haven't read before. The cookbook I use the most is my 1982 Betty Crocker, a wedding present. (The recipes in the modern one are not the same.)Somewhere along the way the binder disintegrated and I put the pages in a new binder, but they are mostly yellowed, splattered, and falling out. I cook a lot of comfort foods and old fashioned staples, mostly by scratch. I love to make soups, pies, muffins, biscuits, etc. My favorite cookie recipe is in there, molasses crinkles. I have another binder with recipes I've gathered from various places over the years, some from the hive. Yesterday I made somebody's mini cheddar meat loaves, from two boards ago. I don't collect cookbooks because I find I will only use a couple of recipes out of each one, and they take up space that I don't have.

Someone gave my son a crystal growing kit last year. It worked well and included a light up base which made the crystals glow and still works. It was a hit. I can't remember the brand name.

It is fun, but parts of it are extremely blush worthy. There is a lot of symbolism associated with food, directly and indirectly, some that never would have occurred to me. 😳 I'm slightly embarrassed to be reading it. The truth is I think that everything sounds beautiful in Italian. PSA: It's Mark Twain's birthday today.🎉

Well, The Food of Love is full of sexy food and a couple of lusty Italians youths. One is a shy chef, the other is the chef's friend, a waiter pretending to be a chef in order to make a conquest of a young female American, who is looking for a conquest of her own. I'm only on chapter four and the author has already named almost every kind of pasta, four different sauces, wines, pastries, and a number of ways to serve coffee. I've also learned that when in Rome you eat Roman food, not food from other cities. Plus, there are important differences between the different kinds of restaurants. It is a very sensual, very Italian comedic story. Hopefully, it will stay lighthearted.

I have finished A Man Called Ove. It's one of this year's favorites for me. Highly recommended. A few days ago I started No Exit and Other Plays by Jean-Paul Sartre. I found it in the thrift store last week. For foodie week, I checked out The Food of Love by Anthony Capella. It was on one of my goodreads recommendation lists. It is touted as a Cyrano deBergerac kind of story. We shall see.

I haven't seen the movie, but I read about it last week and was intrigued. The story is on my list also. No holds at my library. I'm hoping to pick it up today.

Hi, I just finished my lunch, a leftover turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich. Right now I'm working on an Agatha Christie, Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories. I'm also about halfway through with A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, for my book club meeting this Thursday. This story is uniquely told. The language is simple and spare, reflecting the personality of the main character who appears to be just a cantankerous old man. Each chapter is like the layer of an onion that reveals just a little bit more about how he arrived at this point in his life. You are made to feel a deep sympathy, even as Ove behaves very rudely. Though the slightly comic and pathetic events are rather mundane, somehow you are riveted to the story and want to know what happens next. I can't believe I hadn't heard of this book before last month.

I've finished Charity Girl. It was very fluffy. I will send it on to anyone who might want it.

I schedule that week off every year. I'll have plenty of non school stuff to do.